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It's The Touchdown Press Newsletter. Your #1 source for all things fantasy football, DFS, and sports betting, along with 10,000+ fellow degenerates.

I know it’s Tuesday, but that Sunday slate still has me hyped!

Today in 5 minutes or less, you’ll learn:

• Sunday’s biggest fantasy STUDS and DUDS 📊 

• Who you should prioritize on the waiver wire 🤔 

• Early-season trade targets to consider 🔁 

• The biggest player news from around the league 🏈 

STUDS

QB: Tua Tagovailoa (MIA):

Tua returned to his explosive form in a game that lived up to the high-flying hype it got throughout last week.

You were happy if you started him on Sunday, as he lit up the Chargers defense for 466 yards, 3 TDs, and 28.1 fantasy points. Tyreek Hill was spectacular as well, catching 11 balls for 215 yards and 2 scores.

Miami’s season is off to a hot start.

WR: Justin Jefferson (MIN):

The consensus first overall fantasy pick did not let his drafters down. He caught 9 of his 12 targets for 150 yards, burning Tampa Bay’s receivers in a tough loss.

There should be no shortage of these high-flying games for JJ this season, so keep riding that talent!

RB: Austin Ekeler (LAC):

What was that about the imminent regression?

Ekeler picked up right where he left off the last two seasons, grinding out 7.3 yards per carry, and catching 4 passes en route to Sunday’s fantasy RB2 finish.

WR: Brandon Aiyuk (SF):

It’s safe to say that we all (along with the Steelers) learned that San Francisco can absolutely look like the real deal with Brock Purdy playing QB, and Aiyuk will be a huge part of it.

He caught all 8 of his targets for 129 yards and 2 TDs in the rout of Pittsburgh, and it feels like he’s already surpassed Deebo Samuel as the team’s no. 1 wideout.

DST: Dallas Cowboys:

Woof.

These guys lived up to the talent on their roster and then some, embarrassing the New York Giants on national television.

You won’t get this type of production out of a defense every week, but 7 sacks, 3 turnovers, a blocked kick, and 2 TDs will always have the potential to swing your matchup.

DUDS

QB: Joe Burrow (CIN):

Joe Cool was ice cold on Sunday against Cleveland.

The Browns stymied him at every turn, sacking him 3 times and holding him to just 82 yards passing. It added up to a mere 3.2 fantasy points, the worst performance of Sunday’s slate.

Burrow was QB7 this week in Matthew Berry’s Fantasy Life’s fantasy projections tool, but instead fell flat.

DUD WR: Christian Kirk (JAX):

The Jaguars seem to already have won big on the Calvin Ridley signing, but Kirk looks like the loser in the equation. He was pushed to the side, hauling in 1 of just 3 total targets for 9 yards.

That’s not enough for fantasy owners.

RB: Dameon Pierce (HOU):

I don’t expect Pierce to be a season-long dud, but on Sunday he let a lot of managers down with his output (11-38, 2 catches).

The good news is he was given more carries than new teammate Devin Singletary, and was facing a respected Ravens front seven. As QB C.J. Stroud continues to develop, Pierce should have more up weeks.

TE: Dallas Goedert (PHI):

Here we go again at the fantasy tight end position. With both Travis Kelce and Mark Andrews out of their respective lineups, fantasy managers faced a difficult slate.

That played out especially for Goedert, who put up a disappointing fantasy goose egg in Philly’s win against the Patriots. The good news for him is that the team has a short turnaround before facing the Vikings on Thursday night, so maybe he can wash out this bad taste sooner.

QB: Brock Purdy (SF):

There is a loud contingent of football fans out there who want to label Purdy San Francisco’s weak link. That’s not so obvious to me after this weekend’s dismantling of the Steelers.

It’s true that Kyle Shanahan’s system gets a big assist here, but Purdy is smart with the football, can move around well when things break down, and has explosive teammates around him. The formula is in place for Purdy to be a viable fantasy QB.

WR: Kendrick Bourne (NE):

Bourne seems to be back after spending an entire season in the doghouse of Bill Belichick’s coaching staff. While his raw yardage was pedestrian with just 64, he outpaced everyone else on the team with 11 targets and caught 2 TDs from Mac Jones.

After the game, Jones spoke about Bourne as a “go-to” guy, providing hope that he can contribute on days like Sunday, when Juju Smith-Schuster was nearly invisible.

WR: Tutu Atwell/Puka Nacua (LAR):

Last week I predicted Van Jefferson would be the guy to emerge in the Rams’ offense while Cooper Kupp was on IR.

I am not afraid to admit I was wrong.

These guys each put up identical yardage totals of 119 yards, although it was Nacua who paced the team in targets (15) and receptions (10). It has to have Rams fans breathing a collective sigh of relief. It can do the same for fantasy managers.

RB: Gus Edwards (BAL):

J.K. Dobbins is really starting to live up to his initials because that dude fooled me again.

In all seriousness it sucks to see a guy like that go down again. He’s ultra talented and was on his way to stardom if he could just stay on the field. Now Edwards becomes a MUST ADD.

He was the most efficient runner (besides Lamar Jackson) on the team yesterday, taking his 8 carries for 30 yards, and there’s no doubt his role will expand without Dobbins on the team.

TE: Hayden Hurst (CAR):

Many of your league opponents will be looking for a TE upgrade this week, and Hurst may actually have something to offer. He paced Carolina in targets (7), receptions (5), and yards (41). He also caught Bryce Young’s first NFL TD pass in the divisional loss to Atlanta.

Hurst has been productive before, but often overshadowed by the talent around him. It’s entirely possible that he’s the top talent for the Panthers.

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RB: Jahmyr Gibbs (DET):

Did you watch the Thursday Night Football game? If so, you saw David Montgomery absolutely DOMINATE the carries over rookie teammate Jahmyr Gibbs, 21-7.

But you also saw the blazing speed and immense potential Gibbs possesses. He looked faster and more explosive than Montgomery, showing an ability to get around the edge of the defense and create more yards for his offense.

Even head coach Dan Campbell said he plans to use Gibbs a lot more going forward. At that point, you won’t be able to get a good trade for him.

WR: Zay Flowers (BAL):

I’m not so sure you’ll be buying Flowers low at this point, but man did he look great for Baltimore.

After wondering all season who would emerge from that WR room, it seems clear now that Flowers has the inside track to WR1 after he gobbled up 10 of Lamar Jackson’s targets while no one else on the team saw more than 3. Clearly there’s trust.

He also moved the chains like a vet, picking up 5 first downs.

QB: Jalen Hurts (PHI):

No, the guy in your league who owns Hurts probably isn’t ready to talk trades at the moment. It was a down performance against a tough New England defense. And Philly still won the game.

However, if there’s someone impatient enough to do it, he’s almost certainly going to be an upgrade over most other guys.

Hurts will be fine. He was 2022’s 4th-leading yardage rusher for QBs, and blew the competition out of the water with 13 rushing TDs. A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith still make up one of the best WR duos in the world, and the Eagles aren’t going away.

WR: Diontae Johnson (PIT):

The Steelers took one on the chin this weekend.

Additionally, Johnson left the game with a hamstring injury, the severity of which is unknown at the moment. So take this one with a grain of salt in case the injury turns out to be more severe than we know right now.

But Diontae has garnered a ton of targets over his last 3 seasons, including 147 in ‘22 (7th). The fact that he failed to score a TD all year only added to the intrigue for me, as it seemed unlikely to continue that way.

The Steelers won’t have to face one of the best defenses in the league every week, obviously, so if Johnson’s on the field he can still bounce back and produce.

Not to mention, the guy was 4th in target percentage in ‘22, according to Fantasy Life’s tool for tracking air yards.

🔒 Lawson, Abanikanda, others inactive for Jets on MNF

🚫 Bills' Inactive List for Opener: No Surprises

🦵 Chargers' Austin Ekeler Dealing with Ankle Woes

🤝 Seahawks Discussing OT to Reinforce Line

❤️‍🩹 Eagles' Cox, Bradberry Miss Practice: Injury Concerns

🏈 Cardinals to Start Joshua Dobbs in Week 2

💥 Signs for Packers' Jones Encouraging; Walker in Protocol

✍️ Chiefs Sign Chris Jones: Short-Term Deal Done

😅 Colts’ Richardson sore, but uninjured

😢 Steelers’ Hayward to Miss Multiple Weeks

They say Tuesday is Monday’s uglier sister, but hey, that just means you got through both of them! See you Friday morning for much prettier day.

The Touchdown Press is a must-read for every NFL fan — pure signal, highly actionable, and one-liners funny enough to make you pee a little bit.

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